THE CUBA REVIEW 



17 



THE CUBA RAILROAD S PROGRESS 



Working operations were commenced in 



1903. and since then, notwithstanding re- 

 curring periods of political and commer- 

 cial unsettlement. the progress made by the 

 companj- has been decidedly favorable. 

 For the incomplete year to the end of June, 



1904. the gross earnings amounted to $524,- 

 042. while the working expenses exceeded 

 that sum bj- $42,077. For each of the past 

 nine years the broad results have been as 

 follows : 



Year to Gross Xet Working- 

 June 30 receipts earnings ratio % 



190.5 $1.029,258 $295,623 71.28 



1906 1.619,082 562,526 65.26 



1907 1,953,309 658,354 66.30 



1908 2,039.468 721.288 64.63 



1909 2,157,165 950,089 55.95 



1910 2,559,336 1,107,299 56.73 



1911 3.059.650 1.374.071 55.06 



1912 3.819,253 1,818,860 52.37 



1913 4,632,040 2,215,502 52.17 



Xinet}' timber bridges of an aggregate 

 length of 3,811 feet were permanently re- 

 placed during the year, and the masonry or 

 concrete piers or culverts are ready for the 

 superstructure or filling of lOS other 

 bridges, aggregating 3,735 feet in length. 

 Important sugar-mill developments are tak- 

 ing place in the company's zone, and the 

 directors are very optimistic not only as 

 regards the new crop but in connection 

 with the progress of other industries on 

 the system, and the big expansion in pas- 

 senger traffic. — Financial Times. 



AN ELEVATED ROAD UNNECESSARY 



There seems to be growing objection to 

 the scheme of an elevated railroad for 

 Havana. 



Havana already has extensive trolley 

 and railway communications with • the 

 suburbs and towns in the neighborhood ; 

 there are trolley car lines which take the 

 passengers to all the confines of Jesus del 

 Monte and La Viljora ; the Havana Central 

 Railroad offers communication with all the 

 important towns in Havana Province; the 

 .Marianao Railroad takes i^assengers from 

 Concha .Station to .Marianao and the beach 

 and further to Hoyo Colorado: there is 

 trolley connection with Vedado to Carmela 

 and the hill section of Principe and Car- 

 melo ; trolley communication to Cerro ; 

 trolley cars to Principe which is now being 

 extended to reach .Marianao passing over 

 the new .Mmendares bridge ; the Insular 

 Railroad which takes j)assengers from 

 V'cdaflo to Marianao and the new line 

 which is being cftnstructed by the United 

 Railways r>f Havana to establish its Concha 

 terminus at Galiano and Zanja streets. 



There are accordingly sufficient means 

 of communication already in existence 

 which furnish passengers good and proper 

 means of reaching the suburbs of Havana. 



^Ir. Orr of the United Railways of Ha- 

 vana jtates that in the contract made be- 

 tween his company and the government 

 whereby the government relinquished its 

 concession from Galiano street to the Villa- 

 nueva station it was agreed that there 

 should be established no railroad, nor 

 street car line on a level with the ground, 

 subterranean or elevated. This was agreed 

 on between the government and his com- 

 pan}^ in a contract signed before a notary 

 public on December 23, 1910. 



WESTERN RAILWAY S REPORT 



Xinety-eight per cent of the shareholders 

 of this road have accepted the offer of the 

 United Railways to exchange their shares 

 for the stock of that company and the 

 Western Railway of Havana therefore no 

 longer excites the interest it formerly did. 

 This once independent system continues to 

 be prosperous, even if it fails to make any 

 appreciable progress. How its results for 

 the past year compare with those of 1911-12 

 will be seen from the following table : 



Year ended June 30th 

 1912 1913 



Receipts £256,654 £281.264 



Expenses 143,224 166,219 



Profits 113,430 115,045 



Total net revenue 124,466 126,944 



Brought in 16,441 16,328 



Availalde 140,907 143.273 



Debenture interest, etc. 32,579 34,569 



Surplus 108,328 108,703 



Reserve 10,000 10,000 



Insurance 5,()0() 5,000 



Ordinary dividend... *77,000 *77,000 



Forward 16,32s 16,703 



* 7 per cent. 



Receipts, it will be noted, increased by 

 £24,600, but as no less than £23,000 of that 

 gain was absorbed by extra expenses, net 

 earnings were only £1,600 to the good. 

 Had the company remained independent, 

 it would, therefore, have been unal)le to 

 raise its dividend, whereas, thanks to the 

 higher distribution made by the United 

 Railways, the return accruing to holders 

 of Western of Havana shares who assented 

 to the scheme is 7% i)er cent, as compared 

 with the 7 per cent they had regularly re- 

 ceived for a numl)er of years. 



Tlie receipts and exi)enses for 1911 were 

 £259,151 and £140,810 respectively. 



